Carbon tax. Has the world ended yet?

Yesterday, also known as ‘Carbon Sunday’, was the first day of the Gillard Government’s price on pollution. If you still don’t understand what the whole thing is really about, we’ve put together an excellent cheat sheet for you – you can read it here.

The pollies have reacted for and against the tax; some strongly in support, some very much against. Take a look at some of the things that were happening yesterday:

Australia’s peak industry group said more than 42 per cent of businesses put up prices from Sunday, when the tax came into effect.

“Most businesses have said to us they have to put their prices up simply because they can’t afford to absorb the costs,” Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said last night.

The carbon tax will add an average $9.90 to household bills. The average compensation will be $10.10 and six million out of the nine million Australian households will be fully compensated.

The view from the other side is that carbon change is a hoax and that Australian democracy has died. This from the Sydney Morning Herald:

About 2000 people marched from Hyde Park to Belmore Park to hear Bronwyn Bishop speak against the government’s Clean Energy Bill, while a much smaller group in Melbourne heard the broadcaster Alan Jones refer to climate change science as ”propaganda”.

”The notion of global warming is a hoax,” Jones told a group of about 150 people on the steps of the Victorian Parliament. ”This is witchcraft. Commonsense will tell you it’s rubbish; 97 per cent of all carbon dioxide occurs naturally … 3 per cent around the world is created by human beings.”

What do you think of the carbon tax? Are you in favour of the Gillard Government’s scheme or would you have preferred a different course of action? Are you concerned about how your household will be effected by the tax? Do you think the compensation package is sufficient?